Artisan News Service spoke to members of ANTHRAX and MEGADETH about this past Saturday’s (April 23) debut performance on American soil by the “Big Four” bands of 1980s thrash metal — METALLICA, SLAYER, MEGADETH and ANTHRAX — at the Empire Polo Club in Indio, California in front of a capacity crowd of more than 50,000 metalheads. Check out the footage below.

SLAYER guitarist Jeff Hanneman, who was forced miss all of the band’s shows this year after undergoing emergency surgery on his right arm in January, made a surprise appearance during the group’s set Saturday night, joining his bandmates on stage for the two-song encore of “South Of Heaven” and “Angel Of Death” (EXODUS guitarist Gary Holt filled in for Hanneman during SLAYER‘s main set).

The highly anticipated onstage performance of all four bands at the same time happened near the end of METALLICA‘s set, between “Enter Sandman” and “Hit The Lights”. Members of ANTHRAX, SLAYER and MEGADETH joined METALLICA on stage for a cover of DIAMOND HEAD‘s “Am I Evil?” before METALLICA ended the night with its perennial set-closer, “Seek And Destroy” from the band’s 1983 debut, “Kill ‘Em All”.

Photos:

* PE.com
* Examiner.com
* OC Reloaded
* KPSP-TV

Reviews:

* MTV.com
* The Hollywood Reporter
* Los Angeles Times
* ARTISTdirect
* Phoenix New Times
* Metal Shop Rocks
* The Desert Sun

The “Big Four” tour first played selected dates in Eastern Europe last summer to an fantastic response, which led to the scheduling of shows this year in the U.S. and other parts of Europe. There’s no word yet on whether more “Big Four” events are in the works.

METALLICA drummer Lars Ulrich told The Pulse Of Radio the “Big Four” tour idea first came up in 2009. “We were sitting around and we were feeling pretty nostalgic at the time because it was right around the old Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame, Cleveland, induction thing there,” he said. “So as you sit around and talk about your past and whatever, the idea of playing shows with the other, you know, members of the so-called ‘Big Four’ just came up, and it finally came together just over a year later.”

“FukenEh!”, a brand new song from Canadian metal legends ANVIL, can be streamed in the YouTube clip below. The track comes off the band’s new album, “Juggernaut Of Justice” on May 10 via The End Records. The CD was recorded at Dave Grohl‘s (NIRVANA, FOO FIGHTERS) Studio 606 in Northridge, California with famed producer Bob Marlette (BLACK SABBATH, AIRBOURNE, FILTER, ATREYU, ALICE COOPER). A special-edition two-song single featuring the tracks “Juggernaut Of Justice” and “FukenEh!” was made available on April 19 at select indie retail stores.

The iTunes version of “Juggernaut Of Justice” contains a bonus track, “What I Want To Be”.

Audio samples of all the songs that appear on “Juggernaut Of Justice” can be heard at iTunes.

ANVIL threw an intimate, invite-only advance listening party for “Juggernaut Of Justice”, at Toronto, Ontario’s new Noble Street Studios during the Canadian Music Week. Several press outlets were given the chance to listen to the CD in its entirety in the studio’s state-of-the-art master control room and Hellbound.ca was there to soak it all in, shoot some photos, shoot a couple of quick videos and enjoy a few tasty Steam Whistle beers as well. Check out the report at this location.

“Juggernaut Of Justice” track listing:

01. Juggernaut Of Justice
02. When Hell Breaks Loose
03. New Orleans Voodoo
04. On Fire
05. FukenEh!
06. Turn It Up
07. The Ride
08. Not Afraid
09. Conspiracy
10. Running
11. Paranormal
12. Swing Thing

The “Juggernaut Of Justice” song is available for download as part of The End Records‘ spring 2011 sampler at this location.

A trailer for the new album from Florida metallers TRIVIUM can be viewed below. The CD was recorded at Audiohammer Studios in Sanford, Florida with the production/mixing team of Colin Richardson (MACHINE HEAD, BULLET FOR MY VALENTINE, SLIPKNOT, FEAR FACTORY) and Martin “Ginge” Ford. The follow-up to 2008’s “Shogun” is currently being mixed for a summer release via Roadrunner Records.

In a July 2010 interview with the WMHB 89.7 FM metal radio show “Metal Mutilation”, TRIVIUM guitarist Corey Beaulieu stated about the band’s new material, “We’ve been concentrating more on [making] more to-the-point, catchier songs without going off too much — there’s no seven- or eight-minute songs on this one. There’s a lot of really cool riffs and a lot of really cool parts, and, obviously, there’s guitar solos all over the place. It doesn’t sound like ‘Shogun’, but it sounds like TRIVIUM. It’s a got a different feel than ‘Shogun’ — it’s a lot more in your face and heavier and faster. It kind of balances out everything — we’ve got four or five songs that are all screaming, we’ve got a couple of songs that are all singing, and huge songs that are kind of a mix — kind of ‘Acendancy’ [2005] kind of vocal style, [with both] screaming and singing, so there’s a good variety, which makes it really interesting to listen to, because each song has its own thing going on, so they all stand out really well and fit together, too. It’s got a good balance of everything, but the energy and the intensity is just a lot more up there. I guess if you compare it to anything as far as being aggressive, it’s probably more towards ‘Ascendancy’ than anything else.”

Guitarist Matthew LaPorte (JON OLIVA’S PAIN, CIRCLE II CIRCLE) will be laid to rest this Saturday, April 30 at the Moss Feaster Funeral home in Largo, Florida.

Anyone wishing to send flowers should send them directly to the funeral home in care of Matthew LaPorte so that floral companies locally will be able to inform the service personal upon delivery.

Commented the surviving members of JON OLIVA’S PAIN: “It’s been a very rough week for all of us, and we thank you from the bottom of hearts for your support of [Matt], JON OLIVA’S PAIN and, of course, his family and friends. We look forward to seeing you on Saturday to celebrate his life together.”

For more information, go to this location.

Matthew LaPorte passed away in his home shortly after 6 p.m. on Wednesday, April 20. No information regarding his cause of death is currently available. He was 40 years old.

The surviving members of JON OLIVA’S PAIN previously stated about LaPorte, “Matt was a brilliant guitar player on all levels. He understood that instrument better than almost anyone. His knowledge of music in general was just amazing. His contributions to JON OLIVA’S PAIN and every band he ever played with was also without measure. He was truly a one-guitar army when he needed to be and his solo performances on all the JON OLIVA’S PAIN CDs will forever send chills down our spines. A near-20-year history and friendship with one of the true greats has now ended and we are deeply saddened.”

“Matt was a gentle soul, and would avoid conflict at all costs. He got along with everyone and greeted all with a smile on his face. There was a shyness and almost embarrassment felt by him from the adoration of his fans around the world…and he had many. He was humbled by the love and respect music fans gave to him, but in a quiet way, that made him work just a little bit harder. His had a hilarious, twisted and often sarcastic sense of humor that was unique to him. A very funny man, indeed.”

Published by rbtaleman

Heavy metal (fiend/friend?) Writer, frustrat(or), frustrat(ee), decorated U.S. Navy veteran, Husband(twice), father(three times), grandfather(of seven), FM radio veteran, Concertgoer, music collector, muscle car aficianado. Grown up since five. Child since 45. View all posts by rbtaleman